Control theory

Abstract

In engineering and mathematics, control theory deals with the behaviour of dynamical systems. The desired output of a system is called the reference. When one or more output variables of a system need to follow a certain reference over time, a controller manipulates the inputs to a system to obtain the desired effect on the output of the system. Rapid advances in digital system technology have radically altered the control design options. It has become routinely practicable to design very complicated digital controllers and to carry out the extensive calculations required for their design. These advances in implementation and design capability can be obtained at low cost because of the widespread availability of inexpensive and powerful digital processing platforms and high-speed analog IO devices.